The present invention relates to fishing lures. More particularly, the present invention relates to a flesh-like jacket for encasing and enhancing the action of a crankbait fishing lure.
Fishing is an activity enjoyed by many as a recreational sport or as commercial enterprise. Sport fisherman or recreational anglers still use the time-proven method of dropping a baited hook attached to a piece of line into the water in the hopes of catching a fish. Through modern advances, anglers now have a wide assortment of equipment with which to find and catch fish.
To encourage the fish to bite, the hook may be baited with a tempting morsel of food such as a live bait fish, live worms, roe or other live bait that is part of the natural diet of the fish species sought by the angler. Anglers also may use a fishing lure which is a manufactured artificial bait that mimicks the look and action of the natural bait. Although the dietary choices of most fish can be extremely fickle, part of the attraction of fishing is attempting to discern not only where the fish are located but also the type of bait that the fish are interested in eating. When bait fish are not available to the angler or its use forbidden due to local laws restricting such use, anglers often use fishing lures to catch fish. Fishing lures are used by anglers in both salt water and fresh water.
There is a large variety of soft plastic lures typically made from plastisol and molded into the shape of, by way of example, worms, grubs or similar such shapes. The plastic material may be impregnated with salt or other scents so that the taste of the lure is similar to natural bait. Soft plastic lures are threaded onto a hook, attached to a fishing line and cast out and retrieved or bounced along the bottom to mimic a worm swimming in the water. Although very effective as a bait, fish often inhale soft plastic lures and become internally hooked. Since many anglers practice xe2x80x9ccatch and release,xe2x80x9d it is undesirable to internally hook the fish because such fish often die due to the internal hook set.
In addition to soft plastic lures, other lures, often referred to as xe2x80x9ccrankbaitsxe2x80x9d are commonly used. Crankbaits are hard-bodied fishing lures attached to the fishing line, cast out onto the water and then cranked or reeled in by the angler. The motion of the crankbait through the water causes the crankbait to dive beneath the surface of the water or, alternatively, create a disturbance on the surface of the water that mimics an injured minnow or a fleeing fish. When a fish attacks a crankbait it is often hooked in the lip thereby facilitating its subsequent release.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical prior art crankbait 10 which may be manufactured from wood, metal or hard plastic (such as poly-carbonate plastic) and coated with several layers of colorful finish paint or decals to attract fish by mimicking the coloration of a bait fish. Alternatively, the body may be painted in a color, such as metallic, or brightened by embedding reflective facets (not shown) in a polyurethane coating so that the crankbait is bright and readily discernible in murky water or low light conditions or is otherwise enticing to fish. The finish layers often include painted representations for eyes 12, fins 14, scales 16 or gills 18 so as to emulate a natural appearance of common bait fish. It will be appreciated that such features may be duplicated on the side of crankbait 10 not shown in FIG. 1.
Crankbait 10 may have a diving bill 20 that extends outward and in some cases downward from the head portion of crankbait 10. A fishing line attachment loop 22 is shown as a part of the diving bill although attachment loop 22 may be located on crankbait 10 in the area generally defined as between the diving bill 20 and the top of the head portion above eye 12. Diving bill 20 may vary in size with a smaller surface area causing the crankbait 10 to dive to a relatively shallow depth and larger surface area for deeper diving crankbaits. The angle of attachment of diving bill 20 may also vary respect to the longitudinal axis 24 of crankbait 10 with a larger angle resulting in a faster diving crankbait. A fixed, solid dorsal fin 26 is shown extending above the body of crankbait 10 in FIG. 1 although many crankbaits do not have any such protruding features.
Although not shown, crankbait 10 may have a variety of configurations. For example, the forward-most head portion could be flattened or concave (to represent a bait fish swimming with an open mouth) rather than the generally convex shape as shown in FIG. 1. In such configurations, diving bill 20 is omitted since such crankbaits are intended to be fished on the surface of the water. In other configurations, diving bill 20 is attached to the head portion of crankbait 10 below axis 24.
With so much diversity in size, color and shape designed to appeal to one or more species or size of fish, anglers often carry a large number of crankbaits in their tackle boxes. Notwithstanding the diversity, individual anglers will often develop a preference for a preferred crankbait that, they believe, has a high probability of catching fish. Popular freshwater crankbaits are manufactured by Rapala of Vxc3xa4xc3xa4ksy, Finland and by Mirrolure of Largo, Fla. as well as by many other companies throughout the world.
Colorful streamers, noise makers or other novelties can be attached to the crankbait or to the fish line in an attempt to make the crankbaits more attractive to the fish. For example, a propeller (not shown) may be rotatably mounted to the head portion or rear portion of crankbait 10 to create turbulence as the crankbait is pulled through the water. One such crankbait is manufactured by Fred Arbogast and available from Bass Pro Shops located in Springfield, Mo. In still other configurations, crankbait 10 may have a jointed body where a separate rear portion is coupled to the body portion of crankbait 10 by interlocking loops or may have a segmented body such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,875, issued to Righetti.
It is believed that common attributes of a successful crankbait is its coloration, size, appearance and swimming action. With respect to the coloration of a crankbait, one skilled in the art will appreciate that with use, the decals or the painted design of a crankbait often become scratched from collisions with other items in the angler""s tackle box, with items under water such as rocks, submerged logs or other such debris or from repeated strikes by fish attracted by the crankbait. The brightness of the painted design may also fade after extended use in water and exposure to sunlight. With continued use, such crankbaits may tend to lose their effectiveness resulting in fewer and fewer strikes over a given period of time because fish tend to avoid crankbaits that appear unattractive or unappealing as food. It is preferable to refurbish a popular crankbait by enhancing the attractiveness of the crankbait rather than abandon its use.
At times, it may be desirable to change the appearance of the crankbait by changing the coloration or adding decorative features. If an angler were fishing with a crankbait painted to look like a sardine but the game-fish are feeding on anchovies, the sardine crankbait would likely be largely ignored and the number of strikes could be few or nonexistent. Thus, the angler may have to remove the sardine crankbait and replace it with a crankbait having the coloration suggestive of an anchovy to increase the number of strikes. However, replacing one crankbait with another similar crankbait differing only in the coloration requires duplication in the number of crankbaits. It would be cheaper, if the angler could reduce the number and variety of crankbaits that must be carried while maintaining the flexibility to quickly and easily change the coloration of the crankbait to match the desired bait fish.
At still other times the water conditions may make it difficult for fish to locate bait because of, for example, darkness or murky water conditions. When this occurs, anglers may need to fish with a crankbait that has a metallic or shiny finish or that is fluorescent so as to increase visibility of the crankbait in the water. However, it would again be cheaper if the angler could adapt a single crankbait to compensate for the conditions with a bright shiny finish.
At still other times, even if the proper coloration of the crankbait is selected, fish will often fail to strike at even the most productive of the angler""s crankbaits. In such instances, the angler may be tempted to try larger or smaller crankbaits to determine what size of bait attracts the fish. To change from, for example, a small anchovy to a larger anchovy, the angler would have to remove the anchovy crankbait and replace it with another similar but larger crankbait. This change requires the angler to further maintain a stock of crankbaits that have a similar body designs but that differ in size. Clearly, it would be to the advantage of the angler to have the ability to quickly and inexpensively change a single crankbait so as to make it appear to the fish as a larger (and, hopefully, more desirable) bait fish or conversely, a smaller bait. Alternatively, it may be desirable to add features to a crankbait such as protruding fins, tails, scales or other anatomical features to make the crankbait appear more life-like. An example of prior art attempts to change the appearance of a crankbait is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,406, issued to Wylie in which a cloth covering changes the coloration of the lure.
With respect to the swimming action of a crankbait, it is desirable for action of the crankbait to closely mimic the undulating side-to-side motion of a natural bait fish. However, most crankbaits have an erratic side-to-side action or wobble significantly different from the natural motion of a bait fish. Accordingly, it is desirable to modify the motion of a crankbait such that it has a fluid, undulating side-to-side motion of a bait fish as it is cranked in by the angler.
Another problem that arises with many crankbaits is that even though the body design closely duplicates the natural bait which the crankbait is intended to replace, fish often hit the bait but do not strike to the degree necessary to permit the angler to set the hook and catch the fish. One reason for this is that fish have sensitive mouths and are able to discern that the texture of the crankbait is hard and unfamiliar. Having tasted the bait, fish lose interest and move on to seek other bait. It would be to the angler""s benefit to present a lure that has both the swimming action of a crankbait as well as the texture and taste of a soft plastic lure that more closely simulates fish flesh than does a wood, metal or hard plastic crankbait or a crankbait having a cloth covering.
To overcome the limitations associated with prior art crankbaits described above, and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding this specification, the present invention discloses a combination of a common crankbait such as is found in the tackle box of every angler and a jacket or skin that covers the crankbait. In one preferred embodiment, the jacket comprises a highly elastic covering molded into a seamless, elongated shell with a rearwardly projecting tail portion, which may include a caudal fin, that is stretchable over a crankbait. The thickness of the jacket provides a natural flesh-like texture to wood, hard plastic or metal crankbaits while protecting the crankbait from scratches caused by fish strikes or by collision with other objects.
For purposes of illustration the following description describes the present invention as used with conventional prior-art crankbaits which have a generally fish-like appearance with a head and a rear portion separated by a body portion. Treble hooks are attached at one or, in most instances, two or more hook attachment points one of which is usually positioned on the rear portion of the crankbait. Additional hooks may be attached proximate to the head portion of the crankbait or, if the crankbait is of sufficient size, to the body portion of the crankbait midway between the head and rear portions. Some crankbaits may have a diving bill attached to the forward end of the head portion so that the crankbait will dive beneath the surface of the water when moving through the water.
The jacket has a cavity with at least a first opening providing access to the cavity. The crankbait is removably positioned in the cavity of the jacket by stretching the jacket in the region surrounding the opening until it is large enough to insert the crankbait into the cavity. Insertion is simplified by first rolling the jacket into a minimized configuration prior to stretching the jacket and unrolling the stretched jacket over the crankbait.
Once the crankbait is encased within the jacket, the hooks project through xe2x80x9cslitsxe2x80x9d in the jacket which can be made using a sharp knife or by forcing the hook attachment loop through the jacket material If the crankbait has a diving bill, it preferably projects through the opening. Due to the tear resistant nature of the jacket, the opening or slits will not further significantly tear even if the jacket is removed and applied to a much larger crankbait.
The shape of cavity is generally elliptical with a girth dimension that is preferably smaller than the corresponding girth dimension of the crankbait. The length of the cavity is preferably about equal to or less than the length of the crankbait although the length of the cavity may be substantially greater without noticeable negative effects. With the elastic material of the jacket, the cavity is stretched until the cavity""s dimensions substantially equal the dimensions of the crankbait so that the jacket tightly clings to the body of the crankbait. When the jacket is applied to a crankbait, the overall length of the crankbait is extended by the jacket""s tail portion which extends rearward. The tail portion of the jacket changes the appearance of the crankbait by increasing the length and by adding a realistic looking fish-tail or a trailing skirt of colorful material. The tail portion also acts as a rudder that tends to moderate the erratic wobble of a crankbait thereby creating a very realistic undulating swimming action of a natural bait fish.
The jacket in one preferred embodiment is substantially clear or amber in color. With a clear jacket the coloration and shape of the crankbait may readily be perceived by the fish. Highlights, such as reflective particles or dye, may be added to the tail portion of a clear jacket to provide definition to the otherwise transparent tail. Amber jackets may be used to present a brightly colored lure with a slightly faded appearance or to provide a more visible tail section. Bright or reflective particles may be added to the jacket during manufacture so as to enhance the original coloration of the crankbait. Alternatively, the jacket may be dyed so that the perceived color of the lure is changed.
The jacket may also have a textured outer surface to represent scales as well as protruding elements representing fins and gills. When the jacketed crankbait is allowed to float in the water, the protruding fins will flutter outward giving the appearance of a suspending fish but will fold back against the crankbait as it is retrieved.
In yet another embodiment, the jacket may include one or more cavities into which scent attractant, such as fish blood, cricket legs, worm parts or commercial fish food may be inserted. Slits or openings in jacket provide access to the cavities so that the jacketed crankbait emits the attractant as it is retrieved.
Together with the flesh-like texture of the material, the jacket of the present invention makes it possible to provide a hard bodied crankbait with the texture appearance, smell and swimming action of a natural bait fish.